What’s new in Instacast 5?Instacast 5 is the most recent, major update to Instacast. We’ve taken time to overhaul different aspects of Instacast and added even more features that we think you’ll love to use.

Redesigned media player

Instacast’s media player now allows you to access the episode’s chapters, bookmarks and the Up Next queue by simply swiping up on the podcast artwork. Swiping down on the artwork will minimise the media player, allowing you to browse the app whilst playback continues.

Overhauled episode list management

Episode lists can now be completely customised to your liking. After defining detailed parameters, new episodes will be added to your lists automatically. You can now play all the episodes in your lists continuously, and lists now sync via Instacast Cloud too.

Search

Instacast 5 allows you to search episode titles and show notes for specific keywords, enabling you to access related episodes quickly. You can even create episode lists based on certain search terms.

Night Mode

Night Mode displays Instacast’s UI in more subdued tones, which is perfect for using in the dark. Night Mode can be toggled on or off manually, or automatically when the sun sets or rises.

And much more…

Rethought video playback, new playback progress indicator, support for iOS 8 extensions and share sheet, in-app Instacast Cloud management and many more small tweaks and enhancements…

ManageManaging a large collection of podcasts on the move is easy with Instacast’s thoughtful and intuitive design. Browse the online directory, import your subscriptions, customize settings for individual podcasts, sort episodes into different playlists and view your bookmarks.

Subscriptions

Instacast collects all your subscriptions in a single view, allowing you to quickly browse episodes or set custom settings for each subscription. You can also explore our online directory, paste a subscription’s URL and import old subscriptions with an OPML file.

Lists and Smart Lists

Lists are a quick and easy way to collect a number of podcasts for sequential playback. Smart Lists are especially useful because they automatically collect and sort episodes based on predefined values such as ‘partially played’ or ‘downloaded’.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks allow you to name and save specific points in an episode so that you can quickly return to them later, which is especially useful if you use particular episodes for reference.

Podcast URL Scheme
Instacast supports the Podcast URL scheme for subscribing to podcast feeds. If you get an email with a podcast:// URL, a click is enough to start Instacast and to subscribe to the podcast feed.

PlayPlaying podcasts is why Instacast exists, and so we’ve put a lot of thought into the design of Instacast’s media player. There are a number of options for controlling playback, and we’ve made sure that the currently playing episode can be accessed instantly from wherever you are in the app.

Sophisticated media player

Instacast’s elegant media player has a host of playback controls that allow you to output to AirPlay speakers, adjust playback speed, set a sleep timer, quickly add a bookmark and share the current episode. Other settings, such as the length covered when skipping forwards or backwards, can also be customized.

Save playback position

We’ve made sure the Instacast is able to remember exactly where you paused the playback of an episode and then resume from that exact spot when you play that episode again – whether that’s in a few minutes, hours, days or weeks. And thanks to Instacast Cloud, you can continue playback from the same position on another device.

Audio, video and audio-only video playback

Instacast is able to play the audio track of a video podcast while your screen is locked, which means that you can continue to enjoy your podcast when you don’t have the opportunity to view at your device’s screen.

Advanced Playback Tools
Quickly jump to a particular position, change playback speed or set a sleep timer for a scheduled halt.

DownloadMake use of your iOS device’s available storage space to save episodes that you’d like to listen to without having to rely on a constant internet connection.

Offline playback

Streaming episodes requires a reliable internet connection – something that isn’t always available when you might want to listen to a podcast. Thankfully, Instacast lets you download multiple episodes via your home internet connection and conveniently collects them in the ‘Downloads’ Smart List.

Automated download settings

We want Instacast to allow you to listen to your podcasts without getting in the way, and with this philosophy in mind Instacast automates your downloads and updates your feeds when your device is idle. You can apply auto-download settings to individual subscriptions, and you can also limit the amount of space Instacast uses to save downloaded episodes.

Quick downloads with Instacast for Mac

If you have a copy of Instacast for Mac running on your local network, Instacast for iOS will automatically copy episodes directly from your computer if they have been previously downloaded with Instacast for Mac, meaning that you can enjoy significantly reduced download times.

InteractInstacast does more than just play podcasts – it also allows you to interact with episodes via show notes and support the production of podcasts with Flattr and Instacast Cloud. Naturally, Instacast also has the ability to share episodes to a number of other services.

Show Notes

Instacast presents show notes in a comfortable, easy-to-read format. Additionally, Instacast also lets you view a list of links in the show notes separately from the rest of the text, maximizing the iPhone’s limited screen space.

Sharing

We live in a hyper-connected world, and Instacast reflects this by being able to share a link to an episode, including the full show notes, via a number of different methods such as email, Twitter and and various read-later services.

Flattr

Flattr is an important third-party service that lets users give financial contributions to support content providers. If you own a copy of Instacast for Mac, you can choose to automatically and seamlessly donate to creators of podcasts via Flattr the next time you sync with Instacast Cloud.